Deductions of a Detective with Nothing to Deduce
by Cyri's Alter Ego
Summary: My name is L Lawliet. No... my name is Hideki Ryuuga. No, I am L. Or could I be Ryuuzaki, in actuality? Oh, this is trying... Real names are tricky things to understand.


**Hmm, an L fic. I can't deny that I love L, and he is an interesting one to write, because he always looks upon things with that curious detachment. I hope I captured that here, but you know... I won't know unless you tell me. Review, please?**

**Sort of spoilers for what... happens... to L, so careful if you haven't read/watched that far. Thank you~**

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**DISCLAIMER: I will take this fanfic... AND WRITE IT! ...But I don't own Death Note :P**

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The Deductions of a Detective with Nothing Left to Deduce

I am L Lawliet.

That is my name. My real name. My true name. Which is why I gave it up years ago, to protect myself... and, by extension, to protect all those who rely on my abilities. It's a name which has been hidden for years.

But it isn't that simple.

I am also Eraldo Coil, super detective. I am also Deneuve. I am Hideki Ryuuga, and I am Ryuuzaki.

And lastly, and many would claim most importantly... I am L.

At the risk of parroting a terribly hackneyed line... What's in a name?

**NAME **_(noun)_ a word or a set of words by a which a person, animal, place, or thing is known, addressed, or referred to. (Synonyms: reputation, title, appellation, denomination, repute)

Let's begin with the name L Lawliet, shall we?

'A word or a set of words...' Well, that's undeniable.

'...by which a person, animal, place, or thing...' The vast majority of those are correct. I'd like to think I am a person, and strictly speaking I am an animal too... And I wouldn't be surprised if I was called a thing.

'...is known, addressed, or referred to.'

Ah. So that's where we hit our sticking point.

I have never been known as L Lawliet. Oh, perhaps I _was_, long ago in my infancy, but all the way through my career as a detective it has been one of my primary aims to keep my identity secret. That's mere common sense.

I can't deny that I am brilliant. That's not being boastful, it's the truth. And the truth is what I always strive to uncover... Too many would be in danger if I were to die.

But I digress. On the subject of L Lawliet, it is clear that the number of people who know who he is is virtually nil. I don't think that I have ever heard the name spoken out loud. If I were to ask anyone if they had heard of L Lawliet, the answer would unquestionably be no. L Lawliet is not a celebrity, not like L is. He is far from it.

And, therefore, if I am not known by that name, I cannot ever have been addressed by it. And I have not. Nobody has ever said to me, "Hey, L Lawliet, fancy coming down to the canteen with me for some strawberry shortcake?" Additionally, no one has never referred to me as L Lawliet amongst themselves.

If we assume that everything above is correct, then we are forced to conclude a rather alarming fact: in hiding my true name, I have in fact prevented myself from being able to lay claim to that name. If to define a 'name' is to say that the name's owner must be known by, addressed, or referred to as that name, then creating a concrete alias would nullify the original name.

In that case... there is a strong possibility that my name is not L Lawliet.

The chance stands at about seventy percent. No, perhaps seventy five.

The next question we must ask ourselves, then, is this one: what is my name?

Could it be L? After all, if we take the synonyms of the word 'name', 'reputation' and 'title' stand among them. That is certainly what L is. My reputation is that of L, even if the public are not aware that L is me. L is my title, if you like.

But if we are looking into aliases for the candidate, we mustn't disregard the others. I highly doubt that my real name is Eraldo Coil or Denueve, since those names belonged to other men. I simply use them. However, I have more aliases than those alone. Ryuuzaki, after all, is what I am most often _addressed _by, if we are going by that definition. As L is so famous, it becomes dangerous for me to even to be called by that name. So does that make L or Ryuuzaki the truer of the two?

Or perhaps my real name is L Lawliet after all. Doubtlessly, that was what was written on my birth records, assuming I had any, and maybe, definitions aside, that's all a name is. A thirty percent chance is relatively slim, but it could still be enough to tip the balance.

Then again...

Looking back at all my options, it's equally likely that I don't have a name at all. It's a basic human right to possess a name, but that doesn't mean some don't still walk around nameless.

No, that's absurd. My deduction that Kira needs a name to kill was absolute. A one hundred percent likelihood. If I had no name at all, I should have been immune to Kira.

But Kira killed me.

I can't completely rule out L Lawliet being my real name. However, the possibility of it being either L or Ryuuzaki is far greater...

What frustrates me the most is that I will never know. That possibility will stay locked at seventy-thirty forever. I can't investigate. I can only deduce things from what scant evidence I have.

If I could know one thing, though, one small thing, I know precisely what I would choose.

I understand that I do not know my real name. Even if it tortures me to lack this knowledge, I can understand it. But what I can't understand is this.

Kira needs a name and a face to kill. Therefore, we can deduce that Kira knew both my face and my name. Conclusively, Kira must have known more about me than I did myself.

...How?


End file.
